Chapter 2: Heading to the Star Dou Great Forest to Intercept the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?
Shrek Academy, Foreign Languages Dormitory Building.
The once quiet corridor became somewhat oppressive due to the appearance of two figures.
The two ordinary teachers who had been patrolling earlier were not the ones who appeared here. Instead, they were Du Weiren, the Dean of Studies of Shrek Academy, and Xuanzi, the old master of the Sea God Pavilion who never parted with wine and meat.
The two had just happened to be passing by the outer courtyard area. Xuanzi had just taken a roast chicken from the cafeteria and was looking for a quiet place to enjoy it.
However, just as they were passing downstairs, both of them keenly detected a faint but incredibly high-quality fluctuation of mental energy.
So, following the lingering scent, they found the dormitory at the end of the corridor.
"This is…" Du Weilun looked at the door number, paused for a moment, and then realized, "This is Liu Yuan's dormitory."
The door was ajar, indicating that the person inside had already left.
Du Weiren pushed open the door and went in first.
The room was empty; all of Liu Yuan's personal belongings had vanished, leaving only the furniture originally provided by the academy. A faint, lingering, strange spiritual fluctuation remained in the air.
Du Weiren stood in the center of the room, his brow furrowed. He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings before speaking hesitantly:
"Elder Xuan, this residual spiritual energy... seems to have originated from this room. Could it be that Liu Yuan's martial soul underwent some kind of mutation before he left?"
A sense of unease crept into his heart.
This lingering aura was too peculiar. Although it wasn't particularly strong, it had an ancient and eerie feel to it, which made him feel very strange.
"Mutations?"
Xuanzi followed him in, still holding the half-eaten roast chicken in his hand, his mouth glistening with oil.
He glanced casually at the room and scoffed, "Velen, you're overthinking it. If that little blind boy could change for the better, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until he got expelled?"
Xuanzi took a swig of wine, burped, and said dismissively, "I think it's probably because his useless martial soul has run into some trouble again."
"Or perhaps he was unwilling to accept it and tried some method that overdraws his potential to force a breakthrough, but the result was still the same. Alright, since he's already gone, let's not waste any more time here, let's go."
For Xuanzi, paying attention to a student who had already been judged to be useless was simply a waste of his life.
He'd be better off eating a few more bites of meat than wasting his time on that.
Upon hearing this, Du Weiren nodded helplessly.
Although what Elder Xuan said was harsh, it was the truth.
Six years is enough to prove everything; miracles don't happen that easily.
"Yes, then let's go too." Du Weiren sighed and was about to turn and leave.
However, just as he turned around, he caught a glimpse of the windowsill out of the corner of his eye.
"Um?"
Du Weiren abruptly stopped in his tracks.
The morning sunlight streamed in through the window, falling directly on the iron railings.
The iron railing, which should have been straight and sturdy, had now formed a complex twisted shape.
Even at the center of the twist, the surface of the iron railing exhibits a brushed metal texture caused by extreme stress.
"Elder Xuan, look at this!" Du Weilun pointed to the window, his voice tinged with surprise.
Xuanzi stopped walking impatiently and looked in the direction Du Weiren was pointing.
When Xuanzi saw the railing twisted into a pretzel, there was no solemnity or deep thought in his cloudy old eyes as Du Weilin had expected; instead, a hint of disgust flashed across his face.
"Hmph, just trying to attract attention."
Xuanzi snorted coldly, his fat face jiggling, his tone full of disdain: "This kid, he even tries to cause trouble before leaving. Is he venting his dissatisfaction with the academy? Making such a mess of public property, his manners are simply appalling!"
"But Elder Xuan…" Du Weilun couldn't help but try to explain.
"This is a railing made of refined iron. It would take immense strength to twist it like this using only brute force. Logically speaking, it's impossible for Liu Yuan to do it with brute force alone, especially considering that mental energy he just displayed..."
"Alright!"
Xuanzi interrupted Du Weiren's analysis directly, waving his hand dismissively: "Weilen, you're just being too sensitive. This railing has been in disrepair for years, so it's naturally fragile."
"Besides, so what if a level nine Soul Master bends it? What does that prove? Does it prove he can defeat a Soul Master? Does it prove he can become a Title Douluo?"
Xuanzi stuffed the last piece of chicken into his mouth and mumbled, "This kind of mentality, which only knows how to vent anger on inanimate objects, will hardly amount to anything."
"It seems that letting him leave was an absolutely correct decision. Stop looking and hurry up, I still need to go to the inner courtyard to check on those promising talents."
After saying that, Xuanzi walked out of the dormitory without looking back, as if staying there for even a second longer would dirty his shoes.
Du Weiren stood there, looking at the twisted railing, then at Xuanzi's departing figure.
In the end, he could only give a wry smile and shake his head.
Perhaps Master Xuan is right; it's just a few railings, and it really doesn't prove anything.
Du Weiren took a deep look at the empty room, then closed the door, shutting what was perhaps Shrek's greatest regret in a century behind it.
...
Shrek City, East District.
The streets were bustling with activity in the early morning, filled with the sounds of vendors hawking their wares and the noise of vehicles.
As a city built around Shrek Academy, its prosperity is in no way inferior to that of the capitals of the major empires.
At an inconspicuous breakfast stall, Liu Yuan was sitting in a corner with a steaming bowl of tofu pudding and two fried dough sticks in front of him.
He took off his sunglasses, but deliberately chose a backlit corner and lowered his head, letting the stray hairs on his forehead cover his astonishingly large double pupils.
"call..."
Liu Yuan took a sip of the savory tofu pudding, feeling the warmth slide into his stomach, and felt much more comfortable.
Although he was fired, he was in a better mood than ever before.
While eating breakfast, Liu Yuan's brain was working at high speed, thinking about the next plan.
"Now that I'm level 20, my top priority is to acquire a Soul Ring."
Liu Yuan was making plans in his mind.
His martial soul is the Spirit Eye, and it is the evolved Double Pupil Spirit Eye, which is much more powerful than the ordinary Spirit Eye.
The choice of spirit rings must be made with utmost care.
"Based on the timeline, it's currently the freshman enrollment season. That means Huo Yuhao should have just left the Duke's mansion and is preparing to head to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Thinking of this, Liu Yuan paused slightly in his hand holding the spoon, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
Having been familiar with the original plot, he naturally knew what Huo Yuhao would encounter in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm!
That super supplement that possesses a million years of cultivation, but whose combat power is too weak, can only serve as a wisdom soul ring.
For Liu Yuan in the past, this was just a pipe dream.
After all, he's blind, so there's no point in him going.
But things are different now.
Double pupils have been activated, and soul power is level 20.
"The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm is a spirit-attribute soul beast with a cultivation level of up to a million years. It's practically tailor-made for my double pupils."
"Moreover, compared to ordinary spirit eyes, my double pupils are definitely more advanced, right? If it's up to par, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm should choose me."
Liu Yuan kept thinking.
Since fate allowed him to travel through time and awaken his double pupils, he couldn't just watch the opportunity slip away.
Besides, he's making good use of his intelligence...
"It's decided, we're going to the Star Dou Great Forest!"
Liu Yuan finished the remaining fried dough sticks in a few bites and made a decision.
However, there is still a very real problem facing us.
Safety.
The Star Dou Great Forest is a forbidden zone for humans, and even the outer areas are full of soul beasts that have existed for ten, a hundred, or even a thousand years.
Liu Yuan touched the prepaid card in his pocket. The money his parents left him was enough to live on, but definitely not enough to hire a powerful Soul Hunting Squad.
Moreover, mercenaries are often untrustworthy; once their secrets are discovered, they may very well kill and rob.
"You can only rely on yourself."
Liu Yuan continued to ponder.
"The power to distort space when my double pupils awakened last night..."
That was his only reliance at the moment, and the source of his confidence to venture into the Star Dou Great Forest alone.
However, he is still quite unfamiliar with controlling this power.
Last night's burst was an unconscious outburst; without practice, I might not be able to use it in a life-or-death situation.
"We must first find a place to test it and fully master this ability."
Liu Yuan stood up, left a few copper soul coins on the table, then lowered the brim of his hat and turned to blend into the bustling crowd.
Half an hour later.
Liu Yuan left Shrek City and came to a secluded grove of trees.
This place is usually deserted, which is perfect for him to do his experiments.
After confirming that no one was around, Liu Yuan took off his sunglasses, revealing his eerie double pupils.
"call..."
He took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, and tried to mobilize the soul power within his body and guide it to his eyes.
As soul power was injected, that familiar burning sensation reappeared, but this time it was no longer pain, but a feeling of abundant power.
The world before my eyes became clear and three-dimensional once again, and I could even see the movement of tiny dust particles in the air.
Liu Yuan fixed his gaze on a dead tree about ten meters away, about the size of a bowl.
"distortion!"
He gave a low shout in his heart, his mental energy highly concentrated, and the two pupils in his eyes suddenly contracted and overlapped.
Buzz—!
An invisible wave burst forth from his eyes, traversing a distance of ten meters, and landed precisely on the trunk of the withered tree.
The next second, an astonishing scene unfolded.
"Snap! Snap!"
Without any external force, the trunk of the dead tree seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand and then twisted violently!
Wood chips flew everywhere, and the hard tree trunk underwent a terrifying deformation in an instant, twisting into a pretzel shape. Then, with a crisp "bang," the entire tree snapped in half, and the upper half of the trunk collapsed with a crash.
"It's a success!"
Liu Yuan felt a slight heaviness in his brain and a wave of dizziness, but he quickly recovered.
He strode to the broken tree and looked at the jagged, completely twisted and broken cut, his eyes filled with surprise.
"The power is not bad..."
"This must be some kind of special ability that comes with my double pupils?"
"Although it consumes some mental energy and is a bit rough in terms of control, it is the best choice for me at the moment."
"Hmm... With this move, it should be fine against some low-level soul beasts. After all, it doesn't have much of a casting delay and it's a ranged attack, so it should be quite effective."
Liu Yuan put his sunglasses back on and turned to look south—that was the direction of the Starry Sky Forest.
"Yes, let's not delay, let's set off immediately."
"Starry Sky Forest, Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm..."
"I am coming."
(End of chapter)